Howdy all,
Like so many stories I've seen on this site, I'm currently battling constant pain from 3 destroyed lumbar discs.
I've had epidural Cortisone injections (do your homework before considering this, since it is NOT approved by the FDA) which resulted in my left foot drop.
While I'm only 46, the damage I've sustained over the years has been a culmination of many stress factors including Baseball, Golf, Motorcycles, 2 pretty serious car accidents, (Women drivers BOTH times) and working in the construction industry as a welder for 20+ years.
Situations like mine aren't easy, and infinitely more difficult with 2 kids and a Wife who feels I should "do something."
What she doesn't understand is even with my crummy quality of life now...it CAN get a whole lot worse...I'm not in a wheelchair yet
What I will NEVER do...is to have any kind of fusion surgery (contrary to the opinions of 75% of Doctors I've seen in Northern Colorado) because of the threat of ASD (Adjacent Segment Disease)
My ultimate hope at this point is that the Axiomed Freedom disc will solve my problems when it gets full FDA approval in Q3 of 2018 (per the Axiomed agent I corresponded with)
Lastly I must add...to anyone considering a Pro Disc for a Lumbar application; please don't do it. It has NO shock absorption qualities, it has NO lateral stability which places all the stresses onto the facet joints causing failure over time, and the reason I know this is that one of the best spine surgeons in Colorado has had epic failures with the device. (He talked me out of it)
Like I said earlier, do your own homework, but hopefully I've been some help to guys in my situation.
P.S. Don't fall for the scam on YouTube called 'Balanced Back'. They tempt you with a surgical site down in the Cayman islands as a kind of "medical tourism" vacation...but they are outside the U.S. medical laws, and their device is absolute garbage. No shock absorption, no lateral movement, they completely chop out your facet joints, and the device has upper and lower sections which aren't even captured.